Sri M

Sri M, also known as Mumtaz Ali, President and Founder of The Satsang Foundation, is a spiritual guide, social reformer, educationist, author, and global speaker. He was conferred the Padma Bhushan in January 2020 for distinguished service of a high order in Spirituality.

Sri M’s autobiography, Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master, published in 2011, was a national bestseller, followed by the sequel, The Journey Continues, in 2017. He has authored a brief treatise on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Yoga Also for The Godless, followed by books on a variety of topics, including fiction. Wisdom of The Rishis and The Upanishads are scriptural works, and On Meditation, based on his talks.

In 2015-16, Sri M led the “Walk of Hope” — a padayatra, to spread the message of peace, harmony and equality, traversing 7,500 kilometers across 11 states of India. It was endorsed by the United Nations as a unique peace initiative.

With his deep commitment to kindle the spirit of enquiry within, Sri M has travelled widely, delivering keynote addresses at many distinguished organizations such as the United Nations Offices and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Switzerland, the World Bank, Google (USA), Yahoo (USA) etc. He is regularly invited to premier Indian institutions such as the IIM’s, IIT Delhi and the IISc, Bangalore, to dialogue with students.

In recognition of his drive to bring about a positive impact in the field of education, Sri M was appointed the Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad by the Honorable President of India, and has also served as Adjunct Professor of Practice in the department of NCRVEE (National Research Centre for Value Education in Engineering) at IIT Delhi. He is currently the Honorary Professor in the Management Centre for Human Values, IIM Kolkata. Originally from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Sri M is settled in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh and has an ashram here. He is married and has two children.

The Satsang Foundation hosts spiritual retreats and talks by Sri M across the country, to facilitate meaningful interactions across the spectrum, answering questions and resolving queries. The Foundation also spearheads a number of social projects in areas of health and wellness, education, social harmony and the environment.